The advantages of food dehydrating are well known and various methods of dehydrating food have been practiced for hundreds of years. Generally, the process of dehydrating food involves the removal of water from food so as to inhibit the growth of microorganisms and bacteria. In this manner, the process of food dehydration provided a method for people to preserve food for extended periods prior to consumption before the use of refrigeration or chemical preservative agents became common and well known.
Currently, a variety of consumer style food dehydrator products are available from suppliers including Nesco, Ronco and Aroma. Generally, these consumer style food dehydrator products remove water from food by recirculating heated air above and below food placed on trays in a drying chamber. Depending upon the amount of food and type of food placed in the drying chamber, consumer style food dehydrator products can accomplish the water removal in timeframes of between 1-12 hours.
While the dehydrating process is well known and a variety of consumer products are readily available, it would be advantageous to improve upon the existing products through the use of designs that simplify loading, unloading and storage of a food dehydrator. Furthermore, it would be advantageous to incorporate additional features so as to increase the service life and overall safety of the food dehydrator.